n nine years of planning the annual Bass Pro Marathon, event organizer Martin MacDonald has seen all kinds of adverse weather interfere with the race — from bitter cold, to biting wind to pouring rain.

But Sunday morning brought a different kind of challenge to runners and volunteers as a dense layer of fog settled in across the city.

"We didn’t know what we were running into with all of the fog this morning," MacDonald said. "We couldn’t see across the street to the start line... But it worked out really well in the end. It turned into a perfect day, and we heard from the runners that they really enjoyed the fog."

MacDonald said there were no issues guiding runners through the course Sunday morning. And by the time the races were wrapping up at 10 a.m., sunshine and warm weather had replaced the cold fog.

MacDonald said about 4,000 runners participated in the Bass Pro races on Sunday, including the marathon, half marathon and 5K.

Marathon runner Travis Dillard, 23, of Springfield, said the foggy morning made for a great start to the race.

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Travis Dillard(Photo: Harrison Keegan/News-Leader)

"With the fog and the leaves and the fall weather, it was beautiful," Dillard said. "The weather was perfect."

Dillard placed third in the marathon Sunday in a time of 3 hours, 1 minute and 19 seconds, qualifying him for the Boston Marathon.

Dillard said the last mile of the race was "excruciating" but he was more than happy with his finish.

Alycia Horn and Whitney Cox of Springfield didn't have any qualifying times on their mind Sunday, they were just hoping to finish their half marathon — which they did.

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Alycia Horn and Whitney Cox(Photo: Harrison Keegan/News-Leader)

Horn helped train Cox through her first half marathon Sunday, and the two friends shared a hug after crossing the finish line.

"Five months ago, I asked her to start running with me," Horn said. "She said yes to a 5K, and then we continued to run 5Ks, we did a 10K, and I said 'Whitney, I think you are ready to do a half.'

"So we have been training since May, and this is her first half marathon."

Cox said she was praying throughout Sunday's run, but it felt great to complete the race.

"It was awesome," Cox said. "The Lord gave me strength."

Drew Irwin, his mother Clarissa Brittain and their friend Jodee Smith also teamed up for their first half marathon on Sunday. They held hands while crossing the finish line.

"It feels great," Irwin said. "Coming down this final stretch, you started getting tingles and goosebumps."

Irwin said it was his mom's idea to run the race, and he's glad he went along with it.

Brittain said she had tears in her eyes as they finished the run.

"We’re so grateful," Brittain said. "We’re grateful for best friends, we’re grateful for family, we’re grateful for this beautiful morning. I think that’s what got us through, being grateful."

Brittain said the morning fog made the beginning of the run "mystical almost."

Marathon runner Devra Gower, 38, of Hollister, also said the fog added a nice element to the run, although at times it was hard to tell when a turn was approaching.

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(Photo: Harrison Keegan/News-Leader)

Gower ran the marathon in 3:27:24 to finish second among the female competitors. She said she didn't have her best time, but the conditions were a little more difficult than she was expecting.

"You think Springfield is fairly flat until you start running in some of the neighborhoods," Gower said.

The marathon route stretches all the way to Ingram Mill Road and Sunset Street, then to an area west of downtown and finally back to the Bass Pro Shops store on Sunshine Street and Campbell Avenue.

MacDonald, the event organizer, wanted to thank Springfield police for directing traffic and all of the residents for putting up with the delays.

"I want to thank the city of Springfield for being so supportive of our marathon," MacDonald said. "Sometimes it can be an inconvenient because we have so many people on so many streets... But everything went smoothly."

Marathon winners were Richard Kessio in a time of 2:31:31, and Sara Ibbetson in a time of 3:06:57.

Half marathon winners were Scott Downard in a time of 1:10:19 and Kimi Reed in a time of 1:17:36.

The 5K winners were T. Jay Sanderson in a time of 15:26 and Gloria Westlake in a time of 18:47.

Sunday also marked the second year that the neighborhood associations dressed up and passed out water to the runners in attempts to win money for their organizations. The winner of that contest will be announced at a later date.